PREVIEW: KYLE BUSCH (NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS)
VENUE: DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (2.5-MILE TRI-OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE 18 OF 36)
EVENT: SATURDAY, JULY 7, 2007 (160 LAPS, 400 MILES)

HOMETOWN HERO: Third-year Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Alan Gustafson knows the significance of Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway better than most, having grown up in nearby Ormond Beach, Fla. Gustafson is a 1993 graduate of Seabreeze High School and attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach before moving to North Carolina in 1996 to pursue his racing career.

DAYTONA 500 LOOP STATS: Although he was involved in a last-lap accident and finished 24th, Kyle Busch had an average running position of 4.614 in the 2007 Daytona 500. He ranked third in the driver rating with a score of 102.4 and spent 201 laps -- or 99.1 percent -- in the top 15, the most of any driver. Busch's career-best finish at Daytona came one year ago when he took the checkered flag in the Pepsi 400 running second.

BUSCH BACK IN THE BULLRING: Prior to racing at Daytona, Busch will head west to his hometown of Las Vegas to compete in a Super Late Model event at the track where he began his racing career. He will compete in the Night of Fire on Tuesday at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For more information go to www.lvms.com.

CAR SELECTION FOR DAYTONA: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 391 as the primary Monte Carlo SS for this weekend's NEXTEL Cup event at Daytona. It was the backup car for the 2007 Daytona 500.

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KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS: (ON RUNNING WELL IN THE DAYTONA 500.) "We ran so well during Speedweeks this year, I really hope that this time we can capitalize and finish in a better position. We only led four laps in the Daytona 500, but we led a ton in the Shootout and in the Busch Series race. With one lap left in the event, the 'big one' happened on the frontstretch. I had a great view because I was in the middle of it. We ended up going from third to 24th in less than a second. Everything happens so fast at Daytona, you just have to stay 100 percent focused, 100 percent of the time."

BUSCH: (ON LESSONS LEARNED AT THE 2007 DAYTONA 500.) "I don't think that I learned anything different. I guess we all just were going for the win, and wrecks happen when you have four or five guys who are all going for the win. We had a car good enough to win during the '500' and we went for it. It didn't turn out too good. I ended up in 24th, but at least we ran well. I spent the entire race except for the last lap in the top-15 and I proved that I can draft with these guys."

BUSCH: (ON GOING BACK TO RACE IN THE BULLRING AT LAS VEGAS.) "I have my own Super Late Model team at Kyle Busch Motorsports and I'm really excited to go back to the Bullring and compete. That's where I got noticed and that's why I'm here today so it's great for me to go back and visit my roots, race and have some fun."

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ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS: (ON THE FINAL RACE FOR THE MONTE CARLO SS ON A RESTRICTOR-PLATE TRACK.) "This is the final race for our speedway cars -- the next will be Talladega in an Impala SS Car of Tomorrow. We hope to finish this era of the speedway cars with a win at Daytona. Hendrick Motorsports as a whole has concentrated on these plate tracks and we are really proud of what we've accomplished. The No. 5 car was strong throughout Speedweeks and we want a trophy. Once the Impala SS hits the track at Talladega, we are back to the drawing board."